The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


Money tops the 2012 rich list

Money tops the 2012 rich list
20 June 2012
Adam Appleton
Avatar
Adam Appleton
20 June 2012

Floyd Mayweather has usurped Tiger Woods in becoming 2012’s richest sportsperson, according to Forbes magazine.

Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather has become sports richest individual. Photo: exposay.com

The self-proclaimed ‘Moneyman’ has racked up $85 million (£54.03 million) in a year that has seen him take on Victor Ortiz and Miguel Cotto in high-profile fights.

This sees him earn $23 million (£14.62 million) more than second-placed Manny Pacquiao – his great rival.

But the true story is the change boxing has undergone: from leaving its fighters out of pocket and crawling back into the ring for another payday, to becoming a lucrative sport that now boasts the year’s two wealthiest individuals.

It is true that it wasn’t always the case that boxing paid stingily, but often there was not enough for the boxer once his entourage had been paid, or worse still, because crooked managers/promoters took unreasonable percentages of a boxer’s cut.

At the same time though, boxing has not always been as financially supportive as it should be.

Some of the sweet science’s greatest practitioners have ended up penniless with the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis as the starkest examples, whilst countless others have been left ‘punch drunk’ from having to take too many beatings too often in order to sustain a standard of living.

Fighters put their bodies and lives on the line whenever they step into the ring, something that is very difficult to put a value on.

And whilst boxers like Mayweather and Pacquiao only tend to fight twice per year, you have to think – if they can generate the pay-per-view interest they do – they literally are as much as they are worth, whatever people will pay to watch them.

In Mayweather’s case, self-promotion has worked plentifully for him as it gives him the chance to utilise his skills of braggadocio and trash-talking, but it also allows him to govern who he fights.

Mayweather claimed the latter stopped him fighting Pacquiao in May, as Bob Arum promotes the Filipino.

It also helps that Mayweather has fought in the cash capital of Las Vegas for 18 of his 43 bouts and all of his last eight.

Even from jail, it is likely that Mayweather will be smiling once he is told this news.

Many also pay to see him lose – which he has still yet to do – as he is somewhat of a marmite character, with many hating his boastful ways the same way others admire his ability to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

But as already said, boxing has not always been in this money-filled state, so what enabled it to happen?

Fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson, who all transcended boxing in their own way, ensured that paydays would be better for their successors.

Ali and Leonard are to praise/blame in particular. Ali for his outrageous promotional tactics that – along with winning many huge fights – made him a superstar and made people want to pay to see him fight, promote a brand, or be a guest on a talk-show.

Leonard simply demanded that his prestigious boxing skills be met with higher payment, in a very similar way to Nigel Mansell in Formula One.

He was nearly always paid more than his opponents and in some cases double.

This was because, like Mayweather, he made himself the person that everyone wanted to beat. As he constantly puts it: “43 have tried, and 43 have failed”. 

He became the best in the weight classes he fought in and his strong self-belief alienated him and made him a target for many fighters.

So really, boxing has become more profitable living at the top because the fighters have tested just how much fans are willing to pay to view their fights, whether in the arena itself, or on the television.

The fact is, boxers deserve what they earn and all fans clearly think along the same lines because they choose to reach into their pockets to buy these pay-per-view packages. 

And until they stop doing so, it is hard to imagine anyone else but the charismatic Mayweather as – to use another of his proclamations – the pay-per-view king.  

Adam Appleton

Related Items

More in

Natural ways to stay healthy and beautiful

The editorial unit
Read More

Top four destinations to experience culture in Spain

The editorial unit
Read More

Top tools and tips you’ll need in order to brew your own beer at home

The editorial unit
Read More

Three women’s health facts you didn’t know

The editorial unit
Read More

10 cute sandals for spring

Sophie Cook
Read More

Justin Nozuka at the Garage

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators

Rosamund Kelby
Read More

The Outsider

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Project Gastronomía: How will Londoners eat in 2050? A symposium on gastronomy and multisensory design
    Food & Drinks
  • Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Tribeca Film Festival 2018: On the red carpet with the stars of Westworld season 2
    Cinema
  • Half Breed
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • 10 cute sandals for spring
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Justin Nozuka at the Garage
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • The Outsider
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • Tokio Myers at the Forum
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beast
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Lisa Stansfield at the London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong. Response takes too long or there is JS error. Press Ctrl+Shift+J or Cmd+Shift+J on a Mac.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • New London restaurant openings and pop-ups
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Subscribe
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd